Zojirushi Fresh Brew Thermal 10-Cup Carafe Coffeemaker Preview

by Mike on January 5, 2010 in Coffee Equipment Reviews,Coffee Makers

Last week, the UPS man dropped off the Zojirushi Fresh Brew Thermal 10-Cup Carafe Coffeemaker at my front door. Zojirushi was kind enough to send one for review purposes. I’ve been giving it a thorough testing in the Daily Shot Of Coffee this week, and expect to have a full report sometime next week.

The unique design of the Zojirushi Fresh Brew Thermal 10-Cup Carafe Coffeemaker preserves the complex, rich flavor of your favorite coffee instead of cooking it, as do many conventional coffeemakers. It’s programmable, so your coffee will be ready for you when you wake up in the morning, keeping it hot and fresh for hours. When brewing is complete, the heating element automatically shuts off, so your coffee stays as good as when it was just brewed. The pause-and-serve feature keeps your coffeemaker clean—you can even sneak a cup before brewing is finished. Coffee is made in a 10-cup lightweight thermal carafe that you will be proud to serve from at your table. It has a comfort handle for easy pouring and a brushed stainless steel surface that hides fingerprints.

- Description from Target

I’m looking at the thermal carafe and how it compares to the heating plate on most other coffeemakers. I’ll be examining the taste and how long it keeps the coffee hot. I read one sales description that says it can keep the coffee hot for hours.

I’ll be testing it to see how easy it is to use and whether or not it’s good for everyday use. I’m testing out the programmable features and to see if a normal person can program it without studying engineering at a major university.

Overall, I’ll be looking at how it taste and compares to other coffee makers. So far, the results have been positive, but there’s a lot more testing to do.

Do you have the Zojirush Fresh Brew or have you tried it out yourself?

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Tagged as: Zojirushi

Article by Mike Crimmins

Mike Crimmins is the highly caffeinated blogger behind Daily Shot Of Coffee. Besides drinking way too much coffee, he's obsessed with the Yankees and getting dirty on his mountain bike.

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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }

Rose January 5, 2010 at 11:26 pm

I have an Oster Coffee Maker & let me tell you it makes the hottest cup of coffee I ever had from a drip coffee maker.

The “Zojirush Fresh Brew” looks like a nice coffee maker.

Mike January 5, 2010 at 11:33 pm: I’ve never used an Oster coffee maker before, but I’ve heard good things about their products in general. One of the things that makes the Fresh Brew so great is that it does come out hot, really bringing out more of the flavor.

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Extreme John January 6, 2010 at 3:01 pm

Sounds like a nice little coffee maker you have there Mike, that pause and serve feature is killer, I don’t think our new coffee pot has that.
Extreme John´s last blog ..27 Things Your Position Requires

Mike January 6, 2010 at 3:14 pm

I haven’t even used the pause and serve feature yet, but it’s already one of my favorite features.

cecilia August 6, 2010 at 8:49 am: If you get a cup of coffee before the pot is done, will it be stronger? My husband – the engineer says it will, I think it’ll taste the same a the rest of the pot.

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Marshall | Genverters.com January 6, 2010 at 9:49 pm

I’m a straight espresso drinker living off grid. This coffee maker with the pause feature may even save power. I recently wrote about “saving power with espresso” that your might find interesting.
Keep up the great work!
Marshall | Genverters.com´s last blog ..Deep Cycle Batteries – Living in End of Life

Mike January 6, 2010 at 10:54 pm: Very cool way of making your espresso. Very unique too. I’m sure the amount of energy that I use making espresso and coffee is above average, but I’m trying to get better by unplugging machines.

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Devon Hernandez January 7, 2010 at 11:38 am

Sounds like a pretty nifty coffeemaker! I like the idea of the carafe better than the warming plate that just ends of burning the damn coffee. I think it’s Coffee Nate who preaches this, and if so I’m sticking with him on this – pause&brew = not good. The first extraction is always the strongest, and the last water going through the grinds is weaker, so you have to let the whole brew co-mingle before serving, then you have a “balanced” brew. I used to be a pause&brew junkie until I heard that and I have sworn off LOL. It definitely makes a difference. When I used to work in Cubicle Land, people would always take the first coffee coming into the brew tank so the rest was weak. I would get seriously pissed about this because my coffee was weak when I got it later. I didn’t put 2 and 2 together for at home for awhile haha. Patience is a virtue…especially when applied to coffee drinking

Mike January 7, 2010 at 11:14 pm

I totally agree with Nate on the not burning the coffee with a warming plate.

However, the caffeine addict in me wants that first cup as soon as possible! For tasting purposes, I’d definitely let it brew all of the way. I never really thought about how the water going through first would be stronger, but totally makes sense now. I love that I’m constantly learning!

Devon Hernandez January 9, 2010 at 12:54 pm

Haha yup, I know, when I first heard that I was like, “ohhhhh…well..yeah that makes sense now!” You’ll get the most oils extracted from the beans with the first boiling water, which means it will be stronger tasting, and if you (general you, not just “you” Mike ) don’t like strong coffee, then I’d advise stepping away from the Pause&Brew lol.

Mike January 9, 2010 at 1:01 pm: I’m scaring myself, I’m liking stronger and stronger coffees.

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Billy ~ CoffeeMakers411.com January 8, 2010 at 4:09 am

Looks like a tasty little number this one!

Can’t get this brand where I’m from, but I keep reading more and more great reviews regarding them.

Regarding the ‘coffee brew strengths’ discussion, I personally give my coffee a stir after the brew cycle finishes – to mix the first and last of the coffee together. This does make a big difference to the fullness of the flavor!

Thanks for the great info!

Mike January 9, 2010 at 1:00 pm: Thanks for the tip about stirring the coffee. So Simple, yet I didn’t even think of that.

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Pat Curry January 12, 2010 at 9:32 am

So, what’s your final assessment on this one? We looked at it, and ultimately went with the Capresso 10-cup thermal carafe, in part because I can’t even pronounce Zojirushi , but we also got a massively great deal on the Capresso online over the holidays. Hubby says that if you pre-heat the carafe with boiling water before you start making the coffee, it stays hotter longer. Not that big of an issue at our house, actually. Coffee doesn’t tend to sit in the pot very long.

Mike January 12, 2010 at 11:40 pm: Final review is going to be posted Thursday, but I’ll tell you that I love this coffee maker. There’s a lot of reasons why it stands out compared to some of the other models that I’ve tried.

I’m not a big fan of boiling water, I think that’s a little too hot to get the optimal flavor out of the coffee, but that might just be me.

Sometimes the coffee can stay for a while in my house because it is just me during the daytime, but I love with the Zojirushi that it stays hot for a really long time without being overheated or burnt.

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Mike August 6, 2010 at 9:07 am